Treats
by colormetheworld
Summary: It's a halloween meet cute. all sugar. Nothing sour.
1. Chapter 1

Happy Halloween, humies.

here is a halloween fluff piece to celebrate the onset of diabetes!

Treats (read on fanfic)

...

...

The little girl who holds her bag up for a candy bar catches Jane's attention for two reasons. The first is that she is not dressed as Wonder Woman (the most popular costume of the year), or even any other recognizable character. She is dressed in all orange, with what look like hand drawn badges on the chest. Her candy bucket is an upside down helmet of sorts, though Jane can tell it's clearly not meant to be for a motorcycle.

"Treats and tricks!" the girl says brightly, holding up her helmet. "I am allergic to peanuts, Thank you!"

Jane laughs, setting the bowl of Reese's cups and Snickers aside, and grabbing the smaller bowl of Starbursts and Skittles.

"Thanks for telling me," she says holding the bowl out for the little girl to choose. "What are you dressed up as this year?"

The girl throws her a look, trying to figure out if she is joking. "I'm Mae Jemison," she says incredulously. "Don't you know who she is?"

"Yeah," Jane says defensively, simultaneously wracking her brain for the answer. "She's an...Astronaut."

The child only looks slightly mollified. "She was the first African-American astronaut in space," she says excitedly. " _And_ she was also a scientist, and a doctor, like my mother."

And that is when the second thing occurs to Jane. She looks up, out to the sidewalk outside the house, expecting to see this little girl's mother, and realizes with a start that she is travelling alone.

"Where's your mom?" Jane asks casually.

"Stuck in the morgue." the girl says this just as casually, although it is _anything_ but a casual sentence.

"You're trick or treating alone?" Jane presses.

The girl bites her lip, looking unsure for the first time. "I worked really hard on my costume," she says finally. "So it's not fair that I don't get to go just because there was a murder."

This throws Jane even more, and she is about to apologize, when she understands.

"Your mom works in a morgue? She's a Medical Examiner?"

"Yes," the girl nods. "We moved just a month ago, and she promised we could trick and treat. But then she got stuck with a dumb 'ol body."

"What's your name, hon?" Jane asks, leaning back away from the door to grab her jacket and her badge.

"Mae," the girl says. "Like my costume."

Jane nudges Jo Friday away from the door, and steps out onto the porch, shutting it behind her. "Mae," she says. "I'm Jane." She squats down so that she can show Mae her badge. "I'm a police officer."

"No you're not," Mae says with a little frown. "You're a detective. That's a _detective's_ badge." She studies Jane with a critical hazel eye. "Didn't you know that?" she asks.

Jane chuckles. "Yes," she says, straightening. "I did know that. It just sometimes makes kids feel better if I say police officer."

Mae nods. "Oh," she says. "Okay."

"Can I come trick or treating with you?" Jane asks, still smiling.

Mae's frown deepens a little. "Why?"

"Well," Jane hesitates, and then decides that honesty would probably work best with this kid. "You're young, and small. And it's going to get dark fast. And I don't like the idea of you walking alone."

"I am seven," Mae responds indignantly. "That is the second grade. I could be in the fourth, but Mommy says that social in-tractions aren't something I'm allowed to skip."

This makes Jane want to laugh again, but she restrains herself. "She's right," is all she says. "So will you let me come with you?"

Mae considers. "Can I still go up to the houses by myself?" she asks.

"Yes," Jane says. "You're seven, after all."

…

The joke at the precinct is that Jane is married to her job, and the truth that is conveyed underneath that joke is that she has no time for frivolity that might interfere with that work.

The fear that hits Jane, when she hears the joke, is that no one will ever understand her dedication to her job, or truly see her for what she is.

She and Mae work their way through the neighborhood, and Jane waits at the end of the walkways as Mae runs up to the door and holds up her space helmet for her candy.

Jane has corrected her opening request, and she smiles every time she hears Mae greet a new person.

"Trick _or_ treat. I am allergic to peanuts! Thank you!"

After the fifth house, she runs back down the sidewalk to where Jane is standing, face shining. "She knew who I was, Jane!" she says excitedly. "She said I had the best costume she'd seen all night!"

Jane looks up in time to catch the eye of the woman in the doorway, smiling warmly at them. She lifts her hand in thanks, and the woman waves back before shutting the door.

"That's great, Mae," Jane says. "See? I told you that anyone worth a dime would know your costume."

And Mae smiles, and slips her hand into Jane's, tugging her gently toward the next house.

They meet a group of kids coming down the walk from the next house, a handful of Captain Americas and Wonder Womans are being trailed by an uninterested father in a minivan.

Jane knows from the blue sheen to his face, that he is most likely watching Game 3 of the world series on his phone.

She rolls her eyes.

"Hey look!" one of the Captain America calls. "It's Mae-Mae the _bay bay!_ "

Mae stops in her tracks, the excitement and happiness falling from her expression like a stone.

The others turn, and with the synchronicity that only elementary age children can achieve, they begin to make the crying noises of a baby.

Some of the Wonder Womans pretend to wipe their eyes.

Mae steps closer to Jane automatically, and when she looks down, Jane sees that her lower lip is trembling.

The tallest Captain America sneers at them from behind his mask.

"Mae!" he calls, drawing out her name. "Where's your binky? Where's your teddy bear, baby maybe?"

The other kids laugh, playing up the hilarity.

Jane glances behind them, at the minivan, to see if Baseball Dad is seeing any of this. Of course not, he's still glued to his smart phone. She could abduct them all, and he'd be none the wiser.

Jane snorts. "That's the best you can do?" she asks the boy. "Whose kid is under that mask?"

The boy seems startled, but he pulls his hood off without protest, still too young to know that disobeying an adult is a possibility.

Jane laughs when she sees who it is. "Matthew Crowe, I should have known. Of course you'd pick the most boring costume. Your dad came to work as Iron Man. I bet it took him a month to come up with the idea."

Out of the corner of her eye, Jane sees Mae look up at her, wide eyed.

"D-Detective Rizzoli?" Matthew asks. "What are you doing trick or treating?"

Jane puts her arm around Mae. "I'm taking my friend Mae around. She told me all about her costume, and I thought it was so cool, I couldn't wait to hang out with her."

" _Mae's_ costume? Cool?" This is one of the Wonder Womans. The only one who also has a bright yellow 'lasso of truth' around her waist.

"Yeah," Jane says with an air of nonchalance. "Cool, and unique. I mean, there's like, a thousand superheroes running around, but I'm yet to see another Mae Jemison."

Jane pretends to look like she's made a mistake. "I mean...not that you guys are boring. You all planned to come as the same thing, right?"

They didn't, and she knows it. They all eye each other grumpily.

"Anyway," Jane says. "We'd better get going. If we're gonna sort all this candy _and_ get through a halloween movie, we'd better keep moving."

Jane takes Mae's hand and leads her around the group of kids, then she gives her a little push toward the walk. "Go on, Mae," she says. "You're old enough to go up there alone."

She makes sure her voice carries to the throng of Mae's classmates, still watching them.

"Oh man!" she hears a Wonder Woman say, clearly wishing she was cool enough to trick or treat alone.

"See you at school tomorrow, Mae!" A Captain America calls.

Mae turns to look at the boy from the front porch where she has just rung the doorbell. She is surprised, Jane can tell, but she also looks stony, and supremely cool, especially when she turns back to the door without a word.

"That's it, superstar," Jane says under her breath.

Mae is still wide eyed and breathless when she gets back to Jane. They link hands and walk toward the next house.

"You know," Jane says thoughtfully. "I'm pretty sure that Mae Jemison isn't even half as cool as you are."

The little girl tries, and fails to hide her delight at this compliment.

…

…

They are in the expansive living room of Mae Isles' house, two thirds of the way through Hocus Pocus, when doctor Maura Isles bursts into the room, and tries to stab Jane with a kitchen knife.

It is only because Mae sees her and cries out "Mommy!" a fraction of a second before the woman lunges, that Jane has time to sidestep the attack.

"Mae! Run! Get Away!" the woman says frantically, swinging the serrated blade wildly at Jane again. "YOU GET AWAY FROM MY DAUGHTER!"

"Woah!" Jane says, backing up quickly enough that she almost trips over an ottoman. "Woah, doctor. I'm not a kidnapper."

"Kidnapper. Pedophile. Burglar!" The doctor yells. "I don't care what you want to call yourself. Stay away from my child, and get the hell out of my house!"

"Mommy!" Mae cries, her voice shrill in it's fear. "Don't hurt Detective Jane! She took me trick or treating!"

Maura freezes. She stares at Jane, not lowering the knife. "W-what?"

Mae chances a step forward. "I-I went out trick or treating," she says quietly.

Maura's eyes shift to her daughter for the first time. The knife wavers. "You went out?" she asks, sounding astounded.

Mae nods slowly.

The knife falls down to the doctor's side, and Jane lets out a breath of relief.

"Mae Elise Isles!" Maura turns fully to face her daughter. "Where is your babysitter?"

Mae bites her lip. "I...called her to cancel yesterday. And then...I told you she was just running late today."

Jane can't help the noise she makes, somewhere between surprise and admiration.

Maura turns back to her. "And you?" she asks. "You...what, picked her up on the street and brought her home?"

Jane can understand why Mae has trouble looking her mother in the eye when she's angry. She feels her palms start to sweat. "She trick or treated at my house," Jane says. "I saw that she was alone and offered to take her around."

The knife comes up again, just a little. "Out of the goodness of your heart?"

Jane puts her hands up. "I'm a cop," she says. "I noticed she was alone."

"You're a _detective_ , Jane," Mae pipes up from behind her, sounding annoyed that she has to keep reminding her.

Maura raises her eyebrows. "You're a detective?"

Jane does not think she is mistaken about the skepticism she hears in Maura's tone.

"Yeah," she says. "My badge is in my coat pocket, out in the hall. I showed it to Mae before she let me go trick or treating with her."

Maura raises the knife to full height, pointing it at Jane's face. "You don't move," she orders.

Jane shakes her head. "Like I would dream of it."

Maura and Mae disappear, and Jane can hear them in the hallway, talking quietly.

Jane chances shifting her weight, and putting her fingers in her pockets. Unfortunately, this is the moment that Maura chooses to return.

"I told you not to move," she says, but she no longer has the knife, and her face is no longer full of wild anger and fear.

Jane smiles tentatively. "You put down the knife," she says. "That's a good sign."

"I owe you an apology," she says quietly. "And some gratitude, I suppose."

Jane shrugs. "It wasn't a problem. You've got a pretty amazing kid. I mean...she looked up the best neighborhood for candy, and then took a bus there."

Maura smiles at her for the first time. Jane feels her stomach flip over. "Please don't remind me!" she says. "She's so bright, I sometimes forget that...Well...I just mean...she said you were a wonderful chaperone."

"She made it easy," Jane says with a laugh. "Her costume was the best. She definitely taught me a thing or two."

Maura laughs, and wouldn't you know it, her laugh is ten times more beautiful than her smile.

Jane rubs her hands together. "I should get out of your hair." she starts toward the door and then turns, reaching into her back pocket for her wallet. "Oh. I bought Hocus Pocus on demand. Let me give you a couple-"

"God, no!" Maura says, stepping forward to stop her from pulling her wallet open. "No, it's quite alright. Thank you for, well, for taking care of my daughter." But this seems to make her sad, and if there's anything worse than seeing this woman angry, Jane decides it is seeing her sad.

"Uhm, Dr. Isles?"

"Maura," the doctor answers absently. "Call me Maura, please."

"Okay, uh, Maura? Are you okay?"

Maura looks at her and seems to shake herself. "Yes, I just," she hesitates.

"It's none of my business," Jane says, moving again toward the hall. "I'll just-"

"My mother never took me trick or treating," Maura says, and Jane turns to look at her.

"What?"

"My mother was always so busy, and she never took me to birthday parties, or trick or treating, or anything like that. I...well, when Mae asked me, I…" she looks up at Jane, at a loss. "I didn't know how to say yes."

Jane doesn't know how to answer this, and after a moment Maura looks embarrassed.

"I'm sorry," she says. "You don't need to know all of that."

"No!" Jane speaks to quickly and too loud. "No," she tries again. "It's okay. I know it can be really hard to buck tradition."

Maura looks up at her, and really studies her for the first time. Jane tries not to fidget under the scrutiny.

"Mommy!" Mae arrives back in the living room. She has shed her costume and is now wearing a pair of footie pajamas that make Jane want to cry because of how cute they are.

"Hello, darling," Maura says, reaching for her. "I was just saying goodbye to Jane."

Mae's face falls. "But we haven't finished the movie yet!" she says. "And we haven't even begun to sort the candy!"

Maura squeezes Mae's shoulder gently. "We can do that together, sweetheart," she says. "I'm sure Jane has places she needs to be."

"No she doesn't!" Mae says, turning to Jane for confirmation. "Right Jane? You were just gonna be at home with Jo Friday, watching TV and probably falling asleep on the couch."

Jane blushes when Maura looks at her, one eyebrow raised.

"To be fair, that is only _half_ as lame as it sounds."

Maura chuckles. "Well," she says slowly. "You're welcome to stay for the remainder of the movie. And, although 'candy sorting' sounds highly interesting, I'm afraid I don't know the exact science."

Declining doesn't cross Jane's mind.


	2. Chapter 2

Maura finds it very hard to forget Detective Jane Rizzoli , not least of all because Mae refuses to stop talking about her. It seems that in the three or so hours that her daughter spent with the detective, she was able to ask roughly 34 years' worth of questions.

"I don't know when you had time to treat and trick with all the talking the two of you were doing," Maura says irritably one afternoon. It is two weeks into November and Mae is telling Maura (not for the first, or seventh, time) that Jane has a dog named Jo Friday.

Mae stops speaking abruptly, and Maura rests her hand flat on her desk, breathing deeply.

"I'm sorry," she says quietly, spinning to look at Mae. "I spoke harshly, and I didn't intend to."

Mae sets her book aside. "Does it make you mad when I talk about Jane, Mommy?" she asks quietly.

Maura shakes her head quickly. "No," she says, beckoning Mae closer. "Not at all, honey. I..." she pauses. "I suppose if I'm honest, it makes me sad."

Mae scrunches up her face, confused. It is an expression that Maura finds incredibly endearing. She smiles. "I wish that I'd been there to enjoy the night with you. I wish you hadn't felt that you had to make your way across town alone." Maura stops talking, but her mind surges on.

 _I wish I'd met Jane earlier in the night. I wish I'd spent more time in her presence._

 _I wish I hadn't pointed a knife at her and called her a pedophile._

 _Oh, God! I called her a pedophile._

"Mommy? You're blushing." Mae breaks into her thoughts. "Are you okay?"

"Yes," Maura reaches out to cup her cheek. "I'm fine."

"I'm sorry it makes you sad."

"That's alright, my darling. What matters is that you were safe, and that you had a good time."

Maura has turned back to her laptop, and has begun to type again, when Mae's next comment makes her whirl back around.

"Yeah. I was safe and I had fun. Jane even told Matty Crowe where to go.

When Mae looks up to see her mother's stare, she seems to realize that she's said the wrong thing. Maura can practically see her backtracking.

"I mean…"

"What about Matthew Crowe?" she asks her daughter sharply. She thinks of the broad, sneering boy who'd pushed her daughter hard enough to make her bleed. And then she thinks of his father, an equally sneering, balding man of about 40, who had told the doctor that if she didn't want her "prissy little girl to get hurt," then she should consider homeschooling.

"Did Matthew Crowe do something to you on Halloween?" she asks. She is aware that her fear will be taken as anger, but she doesn't know how to change her tone. "Mae Elise. Look at me!"

Mae looks up at her mother, her wide eyes brimming with tears. "No!" She says. "He and his friends were making fun of me like always," Mae says, "and then Jane made them stop."

Maura tries to settle on an emotion. It is impossible. "Why didn't you tell me?" she asks, "I've told you to tell me any time those children are mean to you."

Mae bites her lip, and doesn't answer. Maura feels the words leave her mouth before she can stop herself.

"Have there been other incidents that you haven't told me about?" she asks, gasping when her daughter looks away. "Mae!"

"Mommy! I'm sorry," Mae says tearfully. "But I _couldn't_ tell you!"

"You...Couldn't tell me?" Maura asks, completely caught off guard. "I've always told you that you can tell me anything. There's nothing in the world that would make me not-"

"It's not because you'd be mad," Mae says, talking high and fast as she tries to get the words out before crying. "It's because you'd try to _help_."

Maura stares down at her daughter, trying to figure out what she is talking about.

Mae sighs heavily. "Every time I told you about it, you called the school, or Matty's dad, and yelled."

"I did not yell," Maura says, although she immediately has to revise that to, "I did not yell very much."

"Well, your 'not yelling very much' just made everything worse," Mae mumbles.

Maura crosses her arms, hurt. "I was trying to help," she reasons. "I thought you wanted me to help. I thought it would be easier if I helped."

Mae studies her mother for a long while, crossing her arms in the same way.

"Jane helped without helping," she says finally.

"That isn't possible," Maura says flatly. She doesn't know how to feel about Jane solving Mae's problems instead of her.

"No," Mae says, a little exasperated. "I just mean...she...like…she made the other kids think I was cool. She didn't yell at them."

"Ah," Maura says, although she is no closer to understanding. She gestures Mae closer, pulling her into an embrace when she is close enough. "And how did she do that?"

Mae bites her lip, thinking. "She made them see that my outfit was cool and their outfits was dumb."

"Were," Maura corrects. "How?"

Mae fidgets in her arms. "I dunno," she says. "She just did. Remember on Halloween, when she got you to eat that jellybean after you said you definitely wouldn't?"

Maura does, suddenly, the feeling of Jane's hand on her knee coming back to her like the memory of a brand.

"Yes," she says. "But I…" She breaks off. She had been about to say that she knows how Jane accomplished this feat, but in truth, she has no idea.

"I see," she says after a moment. "Okay."

Mae leans into her, resting her chin on her shoulder. "Mommy?"

"Yes, darling?"

"I'm sorry for keeping secrets from you."

Maura turns her head so that she can kiss her daughter's cheek. "And I'm sorry for speaking the way I did. I was frightened."

"Detective Jane says that sometimes fear makes other people seem mean. But really it's just them loving super hard. Do you think that's like now?"

Maura tugs Mae from her gently so that she can look into her eyes, so similar to her own. SHe feels an overwhelming sense of gratitude for this woman that she barely knows.

"Yes," she says. "I think that's probably the case."

…

…

So Maura resigns herself to the fact that the trick or treating detective will stay on her mind for a while. She is not prepared, however, for the woman to call her, halfway through a Saturday morning shift.

"This is Dr. Isles," she says, like always, and the voice she'd been trying hard not to think about answers back.

"Hi, Dr. Isles," Jane says. "It's Detective Rizzoli? I don't know if you remember me," she pauses here, but Maura can't make her mouth move quickly enough to say _of course_. "You...held me at gunpoint on Halloween?"

Maura's face gets hot enough that she puts her free hand to her cheek. "I thought you were an intruder," she replies, indignance unsticking the words from her throat.

The woman on the other end of the line laughs. "Okay," she says. "As long as it's not some sort of Back Bay tradition I don't understand."

Maura makes herself take a deep, calming breath. "No," she says. "And of course I remember you, Detective. What a pleasant surprise."

JAne makes a noise like she's sucking her teeth. "Welp, put a pin in the pleasure part, Doctor," she says, still sounding amused. "I'm calling with the news that I am once again in the company of your daughter."

It takes Maura a moment to understand.

"Wait. My daught - Mae is with _you_?"

"Strolled right up to my desk like she owned the place," Jane replies, chuckling.

"Where is the babysitter?" Maura asks, standing.

"That I cannot tell you," Jane says. "But it might be time to research getting a new one? Maybe someone with some CIA training? A retired bounty hunter perhaps?"

Her tone is light, clearly joking, and Maura smiles despite herself. "I'll take that into consideration. She's okay?"

"She's great. Not a wrinkle or a scuff. She just took my Sergeant to school on the history of Miranda Rights."

Maura rolls her eyes. "I'm sorry."

"Why?" Jane sounds truly elated. "Best seven minutes of my life to date."

Maura feels warmth expanding in her chest. The adults that approve of a child so precocious are few and far between.

"Thank you so much for allowing her to stay," she says, looking around for her coat. "I will get away as soon as I can, and-"

"I can bring her over to the 6-8," Jane interrupts. "I mean...that's where you work right? I looked you up to get your number. I mean...when Mae showed up."

Maura touches her thumb to each one of her fingers, trying to stop smiling. "I couldn't ask you to do that," she says.

"Eh," Jane replies. "It's not a problem. I'm not technically on shift anyway, and it will give me an excuse to get away from this paper work."

In the background, Maura can just make out a male voice, and the Jane has moved her mouth away from the receiver.

" _Shut UP, Frost,"_ She hisses, and then, "Maura? Sorry, that was just my partner."

"No problem," Maura says. "Are you sure you don't mind?"

"Of course not. We'll see you in twenty?"

Maura swallows hard and tries her hand at levity. "Are you sure you can keep tabs on my daughter?" she asks. "Do you have the proper training?"

There is a split second of silence, just long enough for Maura's heart rate to spike in panic, and then Jane is laughing.

"Why don't you give us thirty before you call the FBI," she says. "See you soon, Doctor."

"I look forward to it," Maura says, and she has set down the phone and is back in front of her computer for almost ten full minutes before the nerves begin to set in.

…

Maura remembers Jane to be tall, and attractive, with long brown hair and bright, inquisitive eyes. Mae bursts into her office twenty five minutes later, looking windswept and elated. Jane follows behind her, and Maura realizes that her memory has not done Jane justice. She is taller, and more attractive than she remembers.

She hugs Mae back when the little girl throws her arms around her mother's waist. "Hi Mommy!"

"Hello!" Maura says. "That's quite an exuberant hug from someone who is going to be grounded until she's forty two."

Mae pulls away, and although her smile has faded, it refuses to die completely. "She threatened to ground me until fifty when I accidently exploded an apple," Mae tells Jane. "So I'm not really in trouble."

Maura wants to remain serious, but it is hard when both of the other people in the office are grinning at her like that.  
"You really are in trouble," Maura insists. "You could have gotten lost, or hurt. You could have been kidnapped."

"No," Mae replies. "Matty says that I'm lucky even you want me, Mom. Since I'm such a chatterbox."

Every time Maura hears about someone teasing or bullying her daughter, it is like a blow to her own body. But before she can recover, Jane has stepped forward.  
"What did I tell you about Matty Crowe?" She asks.

"He's a twerp, whose dad is a megatwerp, and I shouldn't listen to anything he says because then I'll learn the twerp language, and I can never unlearn it."

Jane is still laughing when Maura turns her scandalized expression to her.

"Okay, okay, before you yell," Jane holds up her hands, "I just want you to know that I said that on Halloween, and that is, I swear, verbatim, _exactly_ what I told her."

Maura shakes her head, torn between disapproval and joy.

"You don't have to use exactly after you say verbatim," She says. "You're just repeating yourself."

" _Mom,_ " Mae says under her breath. She stretches the word out into two syllables, a new move she's just acquired.

Maura still isn't sure what it means.

Jane grins at them. "Don't be mad at her," she says to Mae. "Grammar is important. She's right. And she's also right. You shouldn't say twerp. Even if he is. You should just...rise above it."

Maura wonders if this is Jane's way of helping without appearing to. Mae certainly seems to hang on her every word.

"Rise above it," Mae repeats.

"Yeah," Jane nods. "Like your astronaut namesake."

There is a little silence at this, and Maura tries to think of something charming to say, something that will reveal Jane's dimple just one more time. But before she can, the detective is shrugging, heading toward the door.

"Well," she says. "It was really great to see you both again." She cuts a rather serious glare at Mae. "No more ducking the babysitter. You hear?"

Mae nods, but she is casting expectant glances at her mother, clearly waiting for something.

"Thank you, Detective Rizzoli," Maura says, and she could swear that Mae rolls her eyes. "For the second time," she adds.

Jane grins at her, and Maura wonders fleetingly what it would be like to put her fingers against those lips.

"Not a problem," she says. "And please call me Jane. If you're ever down near the 1-6 look me up." she pauses. "And...Crowe is more bark than bite. He or his doof kid come after you guys again, remind him that a woman put him on his ass too many times to count."

She only realizes that she's used a swear word after it's out, and she points a finger at Mae, whose hand has gone instinctively to her mouth.

"Don't say that word either," she says, and with one last, cheeky grin, she turns and heads out the door.

.  
As soon as they hear the elevator door slide shut, Maura turns to her daughter, hands on her hips.

"Alright, Ms. Isles, do you want to tell me what that was about?"

Mae tries an innocent smile. "I'm helping," she answers.

"Helping?" Maura repeats incredulously. By running away from your babysitter? _Again?_ By going alone across the city in order to see a stranger?"

"Jane isn't a stranger," Mae argues. She looks a little hurt that her mother would say such a thing.

"Yes, she is, honey," Maura says, trying to keep her voice gentle. "I know you had a lovely time with her on Halloween, but-"

"You did too," Mae interrupts.

"Excuse me?"

"You had a good time with Jane too."

Maura hesitates. "Yes," she admits finally. "I did. But that still doesn't give you the right to-"

"You wanted to see her again," Mae interrupts again, more loudly. "You wanted to see her again, but you were scared I think."

Maura is speechless. "How could you possibly know that?" she asks after a moment.

Mae has the decency to look guilty. "I heard you call her on the phone. But you didn't leave a message."

Maura closes her eyes for a long moment. "Mae," she says, struggling to stay calm. "Honey. How many times to I have to tell you not to listen in on my private-"

"I didn't mean to, Mommy, I swear," Mae says.

Maura shakes her head. "Mae-"

"No!" Mae steps back, out of Maura's reach. "Remember the talk we had? When we moved here? Well, Jane's the one, Mommy! I know it!"

Maura feels tears of affection and despair prick her eyes. She reminds herself for the fiftieth time that her child is just that.

The fact that they are alone now does not give her the right to treat her as another adult. She moves to sit down on the little sofa, patting the space next to her. When Mae comes to sit, she takes a moment to just look at her.

"Do you know that I love you more than life itself," Maura says softly.

Mae fidgets under the unusual beam of her mother's undivided attention. "I know, Mommy," she answers.

"I did enjoy my time with Jane," she confesses, "you're right. But, honey, you can't force two people together just because you like the two of them."

Mae looks up at her. "But, when you explained about Daddy, you said that you were looking for the right person. And Daddy wasn't the right person because he wasn't a girl."

Maura smiles. "Daddy and I didn't belong together for other reasons, my love."

Mae scrunches up her face. "Because he wanted to send me to boarding school?" she asks.

Maura puts her arm around her daughter's little shoulders, weighing her words carefully.

"Your father and I both attended boarding school from a young age. And while he thought it was a very good experience...I had a different experience." she looks down to see Mae biting her lip, and she realizes that her answer was one her mother would have given.

"And I want you close to me," She says, bending down to look Mae in the eyes. "For as long as possible."

Mae grins. "Me too," she agrees.

They hug, and Maura kisses her daughter's blonde little head. She'd left Garrett for a whole host of reasons. But sending Mae away was the straw that did it.

No one would separate her from her daughter. Not if she could help it.

"You know it's not your job to take care of me, Mae, right?" she asks, pulling away.

Mae nods. "My job is school and being the best I can be," she recites.

Maura nods. "No more running off," she says. She holds out her smallest finger. She'd read about the pinky promise on a "mommy blog," and although she'd been skeptical at first, it seemed (for the moment) to work well.

"Pinky promise," Mae says, happily linking her tiny finger with her mom's. "Kiss your thumb, Mommy, or it doesn't work."

Maura obeys.

….

…

Mae is a genius. She has an IQ even higher than Maura's.

When time allows, the doctor and her little superstar will spend hours in the sitting room, playing Jumbo Scrabble, both of them focused on the board with a fierce, competitive intensity.

Maura has not lost yet, but she doesn't think Mae will be ten before she takes the crown.

Mae is a genius, and her mother is fostering her aptitude as carefully, and as lovingly as she knows how. She has made Mae pinky promise that she will not go in search of Jane Rizzoli again.

So she shouldn't be surprised, when on a blustery night just before New Year, Maura is called to the front door by the bell.

Her hairis a mess. She has an apron on, and no make-up. She's wearing a loose longsleeve shirt, and a pair of yoga pants, and when she pulls the door open on the detective, made up and dressed up and drop dead gorgeous, she wants the earth to swallow her up and carry her down to the depths of hell.

"Jane!" she says. She puts her hand directly to her hair.

"I'm early," Jane says, smiling a lopsided smile. She holds out a bottle of wine with one hand. There is a red rose tied to the stem of the wine bottle.

"Sorry. My Ma was sitting on my house like she was in a sting, so I just came from the station...you're crying." Jane's eyes widen at the tears sliding down Maura's face.

"Shit," she says, looking like she might tear up herself. "I...do not know what I said that made you cry."

Jane pulls a book out from under her arm. "I brought Mae a book," she offers hopefully. "It's...the girl's guide to building a boxcar...they had girl and boy books, and I almost didn't get it because, you know...why is building a car so _gendered_ , but soapboxes were like...my favorite thing as a kid. And the boy's book was all like, how to make it look cool, whereas the girl's one is how to actually make it go _fast,_ and this seems to be making you cry harder, so...I'm just going to shut up."

Maura shakes her head, turning away from the door.

"Mae Elise! You come out here, RIGHT NOW!" she yells through her tears.

Half of Mae's face appears at the other end of the hall. Half of her smile.

"Hi Jane!" she calls. "How are you?"

"Hi Mae," Jane begins, but Maura cuts her off.

"Did you or did you not invite Jane for dinner without telling me?" she asks. She hears Jane pull in a deep breath behind her.

"Wellllll," Mae stalls. "You said-"

"Answer the question!"

Mae comes out to stand in the hallway, looking glum. "Yeah," she says. "But I didn't know that you'd decide that today was a 'no-care wear' day. Honest."

Jane makes a noise that sounds suspiciously like a laugh, and Maura blushes furiously.

"Go to your room!" she says to her daughter. "Go to your room, and do not come out until I say. You are in a _lot_ of trouble, Mae!"

Mae scurries toward them, and then rounds the corner to climb the stairs.

Maura takes a deep breath and turns back to Jane, who's grinning up the stairs at Mae's retreating back.

"You have to give her credit. She's trying really hard," Jane says quietly.

Maura feels herself blush harder. "I'm so sorry. Come in, please. At least warm up."

Jane steps further into the hall. "Hmm," she says, looking around with a small frown. "It's not like I remember."

Maura looks around at her foyer. "Nothing's different," she says, frowning herself.

"I don't know," Jane says. "Maybe if you waved a blade in my face? I've got a swiss army knife in my pocket."

Maura laughs, and Jane's expression relaxes.

"Will you ever let me live that down?" she asks, beckoning the brunette down the hall towards the kitchen.

"Maybe," Jane answers. "That implies that I get to see you again though."

Maura is glad she's facing away when Jane says this. She is tingly with fear and anticipation. This woman is flirting with her.

Right?

"I don't like implications," she says, pulling two wine glasses down from the cabinet, raising her eyebrows in question.

Jane nods. "Why not?" she asks.

"Well. I don't like chance. It feels unstable. I like to know what's coming."

"So you can plan your no-care wear days?" Jane asks.

There is that grin again. Maura tries not to stare.

"Partly," she says. "And also so I don't make a fool of myself."

Jane accepts the offered glass of wine. "So you send Mae to do your dirty work?" she teases.

Maura rolls her eyes. "You know I could never get Mae to do _anything_."

"Don't tell her that," Jane laughs. "Not yet at least."

Maura smiles, reaching out to pull the rose away from the wine bottle. "A red rose," she says.

Jane nods. "For both of you," she explains. "Respect, courage, beauty."

"You did your research," Maura says, delighted and yes, she has to admit it, excited.

"I mean. They put google on your phone now. It would be wasteful not to," Jane responds, smirking.

"What about the other things?" Maura asks, tilting the rose towards Jane.

The detective blushes, just slightly. Maura can see her gather herself. "Those too," she says. "In the future. Maybe."

"Mae is listening on the stairs," Maura says. "Right now."

"Noted," Jane says. She leans back to the entry way. "MATTY CROWE'S A TWERP!" she calls. She is met with a torrent of muffled giggles.

"Child!" Jane cries. "Get thee to thy room! Didn't your mother tell you!?"

There is the pounding of feet. The closing of a door.

Maura is fully infatuated. There is no turning back.

"Do you want to stay for dinner, Jane? We're having Chicken Marsala."

"Thank you, Doctor," Jane answers, grinning from ear to ear. "Sounds great."

"Maura."

"Maura. Yes. I'd love to."


End file.
